Arctic Chill [Import] [Paperback]

Arnaldur Indridason (Author)

Product Details

• Paperback: 288 pages
• Publisher: Harvill Secker (May 1, 2008)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1846550653
• ISBN-13: 978-1846550652
• Product Dimensions: 9.1 x 6 x 1.1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 4.1 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (7 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,970,936 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Arnaldur Indridason is the author of Jar City, Silence of the Grave, Voices, The Draining Lake, and Arctic Chill. He won the CWA Gold Dagger Award for Silence of the Grave and is the only author to win the Glass Key Award for Best Nordic Crime Novel two years in a row, for Jar City and Silence of the Grave. The film of Jar City, now available on DVD from Blockbuster, was Iceland's entry for the 2008 Academy Award for Best Foreign Film, and the film of his next book, Silence of the Grave, is currently in production with the same director. His thrillers have sold more than five million copies in over 25 countries around the world. He lives in Iceland.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars As Compelling as any Mystery you will Find, July 5, 2009

By 

Grey Wolffe "Zeb Kantrowitz" (North Waltham, MA United States) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)   

This review is from: Arctic Chill (Hardcover)

This is the fifth book of the Reykjavik murder mysteries (a sixth will be published at the end of this year titled "Hypothermia) and it is at the top of it's class. Indridason is favorably compared with 'Henning Mankell' and 'Jo Nesbo' for good reasons, in that each book is more than just a mystery or police procedural. In this one Arnaldur (I'm using the normal Icelandic habit of referring to everyone by their first name) is called on to find the murderer of an eleven year old boy.

What makes this mystery personal is Erlandur's ongoing nightmare of having gotten lost in a blizzard and then separated from his then eight year old brother, who was never found. The boy, who is Icelandic and Thai, was born in Iceland. He has a fifteen year old half-brother who his mother brought over from Thailand. The older brother is suffering terribly from 'cultural shock' and doesn't fit into Icelandic society.

Much of the book is a polemic about how Icelanders view themselves and how they view the 'incomers'. With a population under half a million and a language that is difficult to learn, they are proud of their years of isolation. [Icelandic is an offshoot of Old Norse and is related to Danish, but is very archaic is it's pronunciation and grammar.] Many fear that 'multiculturalism' will destroy their unique culture. As an example: for over fifty years there was an US Air Force base in Kaflevik but little intermarriage or cross-culture during that time.

Erlandur spends some of his time questioning his own feelings about immigrants and their need to hold onto the 'old country'. The natives fear that their children will lose touch with their ancient culture and become Euro-centric. [Note: the Allthing, Iceland's Parliament has been in existence since before the year 1000 CE.] He is approached by both his estranged children who want to discuss with him the death of his brother and the effect it has had on all their lives. Erlandur, like most of his countrymen (according to Arnaldur) is exceedingly private and not comfortable with 'touchy-feely' discussions.

In a parallel investigation Erlandur has been called into a missing persons case which he decides is a scam between the husband and wife or for the husband to cover up a murder. When he investigates the husband he finds that he is a philanderer who has cheated on his wives with their successors. Erlandur, who prides himself in NEVER deciding on a case before he has REAL evidence, makes the mistake of deciding the husband has started cheating on the new wife (just over two years) and this has driven the current wife to suicide. His premature decision also comes to effect how he looks at the boy's murder case.

In the end the conclusion is satisfying in that the culprit(s) are caught but for Erlandur the strange background to the case and the information he digs up on the people involved is disconcerting to his vision of Iceland. His relationship with his children and the woman he is seeing, are all stand-ins for the ongoing problems in Icelandic society.

Great read, I look forward to the next book in October.

Zeb Kantrowitz

4.0 out of 5 stars Good Setting and Story, May 10, 2011

By 

Ohioan - See all my reviews

This review is from: Arctic Chill (Reykjavik Murder Mysteries) (Paperback)

I enjoyed this book, particularly the characters and the setting, and I've recommended it to friends. The complex relationships between characters are interesting, the plot satisfactory.

5.0 out of 5 stars Power of One , and, Tandia, July 18, 2009

By 

Meagle805 (Santa Barbara County, CA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Arctic Chill (Hardcover) (Hardcover)

This duo is fabulous! I hope they get this double set in stock for Bryce Courtney fans. Page after Page, the story and imagery imprint upon readers such a sense of honor and integrity, injustice and privilege, and the beauty and diversity of Africa. You won't be able to put it down.
First read these in my late teens, and now want my own kids to read them.